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Home Automation FAQ : HA Equipment : Creative Control Concepts/HCS-II : Power Supplies : Can I use a wall wart type power supply?

April 26, 2017automation concepts CONTROL creative equipment Ha hcs-ii Home power

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Home Automation FAQ : HA Equipment : Creative Control Concepts/HCS-II : Power Supplies : Can I use a wall wart type power supply?

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Most wall wart power supplies (those black cubes that plug into outlets) are NOT recommended for use with the HCS-II. The reason is most of the are not regulated. A 12VDC wall wart power supply can put out almost 18 volts at minimal load! The voltage will only approach 12VDC when it is fully loaded. The higher the supply side voltage, the hotter the regulators will get. Because most of these are not regulated, powerline fluctuations can cause fluctuations on the DC side as well. Even though the HCS-II boards usually have on-board regulators, noise and other interference should be avoided.